Go ahead and call me - A broken record...
Go ahead and do it. I am sounding like a broken record. I know you get weary of my steady theme. It is a steady theme given with a steady steam!
What can I say? For the rest of my life I have one message -let's resurrect the mandate Jesus gave following His resurrection. Let's put ourselves on the dying daily cross and let's follow Him.
With much disagreement these days from other leaders (lay and clergy) I am really getting an education. The latest is a group of Missional Leaders talking about their missional ministries. I'm all for reaching out and being in community/world and in service. It's great and it's a start in the right direction. Praise God.
But I am still finding that the ministries outside the church have to be approved ministries or at least designed or programmed inside (by leadership) to go outside as directed. I am at a loss. Please someone, please someone, tell me why? Why can't we be "Missional", "Organic" in a way that gives up control and let's people serve where they are gifted and wherever God is gifting them and calling them to serve? Why can't we just release 100 believers to go make 100 new Christ followers who do the same? And, who cares if we cannot count them or control them or insist certain rules and procedures upon them.
Instead, it seems we would rather create some ministries outside of our inside ministries so we can be called Missional! Is this just another bait and switch?
O.K. I know I am being too hard again! You cannot please Bob "The Planter" he is way out there -becoming nuts even.
But wait a minute! What in this world is wrong with being missional in the sense that we own and obey the Mission (called Great) Jesus gave following the resurrection? What's wrong with expecting all believers to make disciples and then teach those disciples to obey by making disciples? What's wrong with giving up control and telling all believers that they are to fulfill the Great Commission personally by living out of their gifting in the ministry outside or inside wherever God is calling them in?
Organize believers to pick up trash on the beach and call it organic if you want. Release people to follow God's leading naturally by actually leading people to Christ all by themselves with the Holy Spirit leading them, NOW THAT'S ORGANIC AND MISSIONAL. Are we not supposed to change the world? Or is it influence her? I will not answer that for you.
If we are going to be what Jesus commands - we must lift the control and don't call it organic or missional when it is just another programmed ministry. Missional is everyone fulfilling His mission in a way and place of God's own choosing.
I am weary of mankind playing the roll of the Holy Spirit in our lives. My broken record sticks at this point and I just cannot move past her arm or needle of human control.
Pray for me - as I bang the gong over and over and over again as of the days when I preached sermon after sermon and believers gave lip service but little action. I'm beginning to understand what the prophets of old went through! Im not a prophet but I do have a prophet word that the world and others think is a pathetic word.
Oh well, another day in the life of a person who really cares about the state of the Church of Jesus Christ in America. As I close I just know that a sleepy giant is awakening in America. Wake up of giant!
posted by Bob Carder @ 11:58 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Here here, no need for approval - just head to the street and do.
I pray the days of keeping score die soon, so we can get on with the business of doing the business.
I guess my question is, what's keeping you from doing this? What's the constraint? And are you willing to throw off the constraint to do what you feel God is calling you to do?
If the church won't let you do what you feel God is calling you to do, then throw it off! God trumps the church every time.
Mike, this is what we are doing -and it is working. In four weeks (in St. Louis) God has birthed a Disciple Drive Church where disciples are making disciples who...
In four weeks we cannot even count the discipleship encounters that are made in the community. We and they are going out and we are engaging people and when they engage us back the discipleship process has begun. We don't start with our agenda we engage them where they are and over time as they experience our love for them -they are moved to know why.
In four weeks we do know that 50 or so people are in small group Bible and Prayer settings and the different groups meet at different times during the week. We gather two times a month in larger family on whatever day God leads --usually Saturday and we have communion, the Word, the songs, a fellowship meal and we do not own buildings. Offerings go back where ever God chooses our Church family to give out. You know of a need -Pastor Terry (a godly Holy Spirit directed leader whose passion and purpose for the Church is clearly mandated) gets you money and you give the gift to meet the need. It is now personal and God has worked through you.
This is my Church -and I love the freeing uncontrolling Holy Spirit led movement. The Church family is set free to be liquid wherever God leads.
Mike - this blog is for the stuck (not you?) to become unstuck and have freedom in the Spirit to change the world and not just influence her.
My question is "what might be keeping you from doing this? If you are - you know the joy and passion and freedom in serving Jesus through others. If not you are unfulfilled and maybe you don't even know it.
When I was a kid one of our favorite treats was a gallon of ice cream every now and then. We were very poor. When we got it all 8 kids consumed it quickly. Then I got married and discovered that there was more than imitation vanilla. I didn't know I never had the real thing. I never knew I was eating something imitation. Now I eat the real thing and the joy of having it is savoured with ever spoonful. I eat it slowly and then I leave some for Sydney our dog who cleans the bowl for the next ice cream experience.
My record got unstuck -thank you.
Come visit me. I'll make you some homemade vanilla ice cream that will knock your socks off. Nothing imitation. Nothing "lite." But you can't buy it in the store.
And we make chocolate, too.
My next visit to your town will include a stop for true friendship and the real deal. I'll give you the heads up...:)
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